The trading edge formula
"Information is not knowledge."
– Albert Einstein, patent clerk
Who said that science fiction hasn't found its way into the austere world of finance? Ask any hedge fund manager about their edge and you will enter a world of crusaders against corporate cabals, financial Sherlock Holmeses patiently piecing the information puzzle together, and visionaries investing in the next new [insert the next disruptive technological buzzword here…].
Everyone in the trading business will say that you need an edge to make money. Yet, they will never tell you how to build a sustainable one, presumably for fear that dissemination could erode theirs. Understandably, the trading edge has been this mysterious secret sauce.
There are only three common types of edge: technological, information, and statistical, which will be considered over the next few sections.
Technological edge
Any retail trader today...